The world at present is battling with the Pandemic together and is in desperate need of empathy. Empathy, as defined in the Oxford dictionary, is the “ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” This innate personality trait has become one of the necessities that can be developed and imbibed.
If we observe at a micro level, everything we think, feel, and do is possible because of the neurons in the brain. Neurons use electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between various brain areas and their interaction with the rest of the body. The nervous system acts as an information highway.
Depending on the specific message-carrying abilities, neurons can be classified into sensory, motor, and interneurons. Sensory neurons carry information from the sense organs (such as the eyes, tongue, skin, nose, and ears) to the brain; the motor neurons control voluntary muscle activity and carry messages from the brain to the muscles governing the behavior of the organism. All the other neurons that translate the information from the sensory neurons to the motor neurons are called interneurons. Joseph LeDoux, an award-winning neuroscientist, asserts that although humans share the same brain systems, the unique wiring of neurons is different in each person and makes their personality.
Nearly everyone would have encountered and wondered why we experience the wide range of emotions while watching a movie, where we are only an observer, not a participant. In my family, we always watch my mom to alleviate the situation during emotional scenes as she gets carried away, realising she bursts into laughter. This intrigued me to study and explore further one specific neuron- mirror neuron, a type of sensory-motor neuron essential for empathy. The mirror neuron is one of the most important discoveries in the last decade of neuroscience. These are a variety of visuospatial neurons which fundamentally show human social interaction. As the name suggests, mirror neurons respond to actions that we observe in others. The interesting part is that mirror neurons fire in the same way when We recreate that action ourselves. Apart from imitation, they also play a significant role in human behavior and thought processes. According to the journal of natural science, biology, and medicine, “defects in the mirror neuron systems are linked to disorders like autism.”
Donald Hebb, in 1949, proposed a basic mechanism for synaptic plasticity wherein an increase in synaptic efficacy arises from the presynaptic cell repeated and persistent stimulation of the postsynaptic cell. When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change occurs in one or both cells such that A cells efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased. The theory is often summarised as “Cells that fire together, wire together.” This Hebbian theory attempts to explain “associative learning,” in which simultaneous activation of cells leads to pronounced increases in synaptic strength between those cells. Such learning is known as Hebbian learning. Many studies have independently argued that the mirror neuron
The system is involved in emotions and empathy. According to self-report questionnaires, studies have shown that more empathic people have stronger activations both in the mirror system for hand actions and the mirror system for emotions, providing more direct support for the idea that. The mirror system is linked to empathy.
We are so caught up in our lives, consumed by the internet, TV, computers, cell phones, that we are losing our innate ability to be empathetic. Communicating with friends and family was considered as an act of pleasure, now feels forced upon. Seclusion seems to be the new norm for all teenagers. There are many tools used to improve empathy. I have been practicing myself and closely observing people who have been meditating. In my experience, meditation helps evoke feelings of observation, acceptance, and compassion, successively enhancing empathy in the practitioners. Neuroscientific researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York (NY) had discovered that, when the brain was scanned during meditation, the empathy area of the brain (anterior insular cortex) lights up significantly. Highly compassionate Buddhist monks have known this for thousands of years, confirmed by western science.
As future leaders, we have the responsibility to co-create a world where everything and everyone exists empathetically. Compassion by enriching empathy is the new mantra for the future post-pandemic world. This can be achieved by heightening self and social awareness, which will pave the way to enhance these qualities.
Try taking the personality test at your convenience weekly or biweekly while doing Heartfulness guided meditation and observing your changes.
Personality Test:
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
Mediation:
www.heartfulness.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Acharya, S., & Shukla, S. (2012, July). Mirror neurons: Enigma of the
metaphysical modular brain. Journal of natural science, biology, and
medicine:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3510904/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Brain basics: The life
and death of a neuron. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke:https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-
Education/Life-and-Death-Neuron.
Meditation: How to be more empathetic & compassionate. EOC Institute.
(n.d.):from https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/meditation-compassion-they-key-to-
your-happiness/.
If we observe at a micro level, everything we think, feel, and do is possible because of the neurons in the brain. Neurons use electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between various brain areas and their interaction with the rest of the body. The nervous system acts as an information highway.
Depending on the specific message-carrying abilities, neurons can be classified into sensory, motor, and interneurons. Sensory neurons carry information from the sense organs (such as the eyes, tongue, skin, nose, and ears) to the brain; the motor neurons control voluntary muscle activity and carry messages from the brain to the muscles governing the behavior of the organism. All the other neurons that translate the information from the sensory neurons to the motor neurons are called interneurons. Joseph LeDoux, an award-winning neuroscientist, asserts that although humans share the same brain systems, the unique wiring of neurons is different in each person and makes their personality.
Nearly everyone would have encountered and wondered why we experience the wide range of emotions while watching a movie, where we are only an observer, not a participant. In my family, we always watch my mom to alleviate the situation during emotional scenes as she gets carried away, realising she bursts into laughter. This intrigued me to study and explore further one specific neuron- mirror neuron, a type of sensory-motor neuron essential for empathy. The mirror neuron is one of the most important discoveries in the last decade of neuroscience. These are a variety of visuospatial neurons which fundamentally show human social interaction. As the name suggests, mirror neurons respond to actions that we observe in others. The interesting part is that mirror neurons fire in the same way when We recreate that action ourselves. Apart from imitation, they also play a significant role in human behavior and thought processes. According to the journal of natural science, biology, and medicine, “defects in the mirror neuron systems are linked to disorders like autism.”
Donald Hebb, in 1949, proposed a basic mechanism for synaptic plasticity wherein an increase in synaptic efficacy arises from the presynaptic cell repeated and persistent stimulation of the postsynaptic cell. When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change occurs in one or both cells such that A cells efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased. The theory is often summarised as “Cells that fire together, wire together.” This Hebbian theory attempts to explain “associative learning,” in which simultaneous activation of cells leads to pronounced increases in synaptic strength between those cells. Such learning is known as Hebbian learning. Many studies have independently argued that the mirror neuron
The system is involved in emotions and empathy. According to self-report questionnaires, studies have shown that more empathic people have stronger activations both in the mirror system for hand actions and the mirror system for emotions, providing more direct support for the idea that. The mirror system is linked to empathy.
We are so caught up in our lives, consumed by the internet, TV, computers, cell phones, that we are losing our innate ability to be empathetic. Communicating with friends and family was considered as an act of pleasure, now feels forced upon. Seclusion seems to be the new norm for all teenagers. There are many tools used to improve empathy. I have been practicing myself and closely observing people who have been meditating. In my experience, meditation helps evoke feelings of observation, acceptance, and compassion, successively enhancing empathy in the practitioners. Neuroscientific researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York (NY) had discovered that, when the brain was scanned during meditation, the empathy area of the brain (anterior insular cortex) lights up significantly. Highly compassionate Buddhist monks have known this for thousands of years, confirmed by western science.
As future leaders, we have the responsibility to co-create a world where everything and everyone exists empathetically. Compassion by enriching empathy is the new mantra for the future post-pandemic world. This can be achieved by heightening self and social awareness, which will pave the way to enhance these qualities.
Try taking the personality test at your convenience weekly or biweekly while doing Heartfulness guided meditation and observing your changes.
Personality Test:
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
Mediation:
www.heartfulness.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Acharya, S., & Shukla, S. (2012, July). Mirror neurons: Enigma of the
metaphysical modular brain. Journal of natural science, biology, and
medicine:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3510904/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Brain basics: The life
and death of a neuron. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke:https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-
Education/Life-and-Death-Neuron.
Meditation: How to be more empathetic & compassionate. EOC Institute.
(n.d.):from https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/meditation-compassion-they-key-to-
your-happiness/.
Very well written and thought probing article. Thank you Prakash for your insights on mirror neurons and how it can be linked to empathy. I am looking forward to reading more from you as I went back to glance your September blogs.
ReplyDeleteVery nice . Having empathy and compassion is one of the qualities we need to improve..
ReplyDeleteWonderful Prakash very well expressed.... Keep it.... Looking forward to reading more on this topic....
ReplyDelete